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RYAN STILES BIOGRAPHY
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Ryan Stiles was
born in Seattle, Washington, the youngest of five children. When he was
ten, his Canadian-born parents moved the family to Richmond, British
Columbia. At the age of seventeen, he dropped out of high school to
pursue a career in comedy. He worked in his father’s fish-processing
plant to earn a living while doing stand-up at Punchlines Comedy Club
in Vancouver, British Columbia and performing improvisational comedy
with the Vancouver Theatre Sports League. In 1986, Stiles successfully
auditioned for a berth at Toronto’s renowned Second City comedy
ensemble.
By 1989, he had gained the attention of the producers of the British improvisational comedy show, Whose Line Is It Anyway?.
Ryan was a regular on the show until 1998, and the show’s short
production season allowed him to make numerous television and motion
picture appearances in the United States.
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In
1995, Stiles was tapped by American comic Drew Carey to be a regular on
his sitcom, The Drew Carey Show. He played Drew’s smart but
underachieving best friend, Lewis Kiniski. In 1998, Carey successfully
lobbied ABC to get an American version of Whose Line? produced.
Following the final series of the British version in 1998, the American
version premiered, with both Stiles and Carey credited as executive
producers. Stiles was featured in every episode of the American series,
which was produced until 2003. New episodes continued to air, however,
for several years thereafter. Ryan can currently be seen as Dr. Herb
Melnick on CBS Televisions hit comedy Two and a Half Men.
Ryan currently
makes his home in Bellingham, Washington and has maintained a residence
in Whatcom County for several years despite his busy acting career.
Ryan owns a comedy club in Bellingham called The Upfront Theatre
where he often drops in and performs with local improvisers and
stand-up comedians. Ryan has talked of using his notoriety to create a
celebrity golf tournament to be played in Northwest Washington, which
benefits a local based children’s charity. After many years of
discussions, it appears that Ryan will make that dream a reality in
2010 with the “First Annual Ryan Stiles Celebrity Golf Classic”.
Click here for some more fun facts on films etc.
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